Welcome to ~*Redwall Abbey~* !
Congratulations on joining our guild, fellow Redwaller. If you have read all, or even just one book, you will be welcome in with open arms! When you first join, please read this page over thoroughly and refer back to it whenever you can. Our guild is not the biggest, or the best, but it is home to its members. We are as active as possible, though. (Or at least we try to be. –laughs–) Feel free to ask as many questions as you like; our members are always willing to help newcomers. ^^

Redwall Abbey's Golden Rules
Please read and follow these rules to help keep the guild as safe and friendly an environment as possible.

1. Be polite and courteous to all members; please no swearing or insulting other members. If you have to vent, please do it outside of Redwall's Guild Boards, privately (Ex. Neomail, AIM, MSN). Bullying, rudeness, and the like will not be tolerated! From the lowest Mouse to the highest Elder, all will be punished similarly: the council will give you a warning (often a lecture as well, depending on who catches you) for first offense; second offense, and failure to obey the rules, will result in suspension, the length of which will be decided by the council depending on the severity. After that, cases will be dealt with individually; Redwall is meant to be a safe place, and it should be kept that way so no one is hurt. Please also keep to Neopets' rules - it wouldn't be good to obey these rules and end up getting frozen for a site rule, now would it? ;D

2. The Council and Elders are here to help, not be miracle workers. We aren't gods; we can't solve or handle everything. After all, we're only human. If you have a concern or complaint, please neomail, instant message, or e-Mail one of them. Multiple messages to different Council members will not get the problem solved faster, in fact, it makes it more difficult. We, as the Council, will discuss the problem privately amongst ourselves, and solve it the best we can.

3. Please practice good grammar, spelling, and basic good manners on the Guild Boards. Remember, you may be the one to type it, but anyone and everyone can see it. Redwallers are sticklers for proper grammar and spelling, so try to follow this guideline. Occasional typos and multiple posts are allowed; we all do them at one point or another. But please do try your best - many members find trying to decipher chatspeak and shorthands frustrating, and may skip over such posts. The majority of Redwallers despise chatspeak, and find it confusing, obnoxious, and proof of an Abbeybeast's illiteracy and limited vocabulary. However, a point has been raised about accents - many Redwallers use accents, and because of the way they look when spelled phonetically, it can look look like the typist can't be bothered to spell correctly. Accents are completely fine; they can be a bit confusing at first, but if you are having trouble understanding someone's Redwall accent please ask them to clarify. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy (and besides, almost all the accents are some form of Highlander). Click here for a list of Highlander definitions and acceptable shorthands.

4. When it comes to roleplay characters and ranks, the general assumption is that you will choose a "normal" Redwall creature - mouse, squirrel, otter, hare, badger, shrew, mole, or hedgehog. However, there have been exceptions in the past; but if you'd like to be an exception and be a different creature (owl, wildcat, etc.), please remember to ask the council first so a decision can be reached as to how appropriate it is. We have had several arguments about this in the past, so please do ask before choosing an exception. Also, please, for the sake of others' memories, don't change your character from one animal to another, or change your character's name multiple times. For example: Rose the hare joins Redwall this winter. She then grows bored of being a hare, and changes to a mouse. After a few weeks, the rank of "mouse" is increasingly becoming annoying, and Rose then changes her name to Lilac and becomes an otter. Two days later, Lilac is now renamed to Waterlily the Shrew. You see how confusing this is? We strongly recommend sticking to one character, one species, and one name, unless you have specific reasons otherwise. Also please note that we do not use ranks as "ranks" - they are simply as a label for whichever species you are. Some Elders also choose to keep their species rank instead of the general "Abbey Elder" title. When you first join you will be asked what species you would like your character to be, and you will be changed to that rank.

That's everything! Sorry if these rules seem harsh, but they're for the best of the guild. The inhabitants of Redwall Abbey welcome you with open arms, and hope you enjoy your stay!